Autism Awareness Month

Tuesday, April 09, 2013

April is
Autism Awareness Month. I have mentioned my son Mykael who was
diagnosed with autism 3 years ago and shared his journey with my
readers. I have four sons and a daughter. It is more common than
people realize that autism will likely impact a second child in the
family, especially among boys. My 4-year-old Landen has been
diagnosed on the autism spectrum. He is not like my son Mykael; he
has very mild case of autism. He has verbal skills. He is able read
and write for his age, but he lacks the social skills. In addition,
he has an intense interest about all cars and trucks. He was
diagnosed with Asperger's a year and half ago.

Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's syndrome or
Asperger disorder (AD), is an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that
is characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction,
alongside restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and
interests. It differs from other autism spectrum disorders by its
relative language and cognitive development.

I wanted to share more about autism spectrum disorder. As I
shared with you in my earlier blog, autism statistics from the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identify around 1
in 88 American children as on the autism spectrum--a 10-fold
increase in prevalence in 40 years. Careful research shows that
this increase is only partly explained by improved diagnosis and
awareness. Studies also show that autism is four-five times more
common among boys than girls. An estimated 1 out of 54 boys and 1
in 252 girls are diagnosed. ASD affects over 2 million individuals
in the U.S. and tens of millions worldwide. Moreover, government
autism statistics suggest that prevalence rates have increased 10
to 17% annually in recent years. There is no established
explanation for this continuing increase, although improved
diagnosis and environmental influences are two reasons often
considered.

My
family lives with autism every day like so many families. I want
make sure everyone is aware and has information about how you can
get involved in the Autism Speaks Walk of 2013. Autism Speaks Walk
will be held in Chicago at Soldier Field on May 18. We need
everyone's support and if you still need community service hours to
graduate, this is a wonderful community event that is near and dear
to my heart. If you need more information please contact me
directly or contact us at http://www.autismspeaks.org or
224-567-8573.

Remember: Every 11 minutes, another family receives the
devastating news that their child has an autism spectrum disorder.
Don't wait another minute and support the Awareness for
Autism!!!

Thank you for continued support of AOM blog. Good luck on finals
and congratulations to our graduates of Spring 2013.